The Journey: December 2024
As I write, my calendar tells me today is November 27. Entering into Advent season, memories take me back 43 years. On November 27, 1981, I was a 16-year-old kid hanging out with my buddies at Windy Gap, a Young Life camp in Western NC. My older brother, Sandy, was at Duke Medical Center undergoing a second heart surgery for Wolff-Parkinson-White Syndrome. Around 7pm that night, I heard the doctors were having trouble. Sitting next to the basketball court, I prayed. A little after 7:30pm, I felt Sandy say, “Goodbye Kevin, I love you.” In less than an hour, my Uncle Billy arrived to pick me up. “Sandy has gone home to be with the Lord,” Uncle Billy told me as he wept and wrapped me in his arms. He took me to his home in Montreat. He and Aunt Ruth called my friends for me. They fed me. They hugged me and let me rest. Thanksgiving 1981 was a turning point for me, as it was for the rest of my family.
Fast forward 42 years. Last year our entire family gathered for a Thanksgiving meal, the first with our soon-to-be son-in-law Chase Riddell. The mood was joyful, the food amazing. But we could tell Mom wasn’t feeling well. Mom and Dad left lunch early. A few minutes later, I got another dreaded call. She was in the ER with pneumonia. Our family took turns with her the next few weeks. She almost stopped eating and drinking. Over the course of her life, she had been through so much. Polio in her throat when she was 12. A neurological disorder in her eyes for over 40 years. Due to life-long difficulties, for years she struggled with talking, eating, and seeing.
Caroline and I sensed this was the beginning of the end when we visited her at the healthcare facility on December 7. While depressed, she retained her positive outlook. She confided that she was ready: “I’ve lived a long life. I have no regrets. I served my Savior well.” Wow. I hope I can say that at 91 and after 70 years of marriage.
A few days later, after watching church online, she felt like the veil lifted. She told the family she had hope again and wanted to live! We were ecstatic. They released her to go home the day after Christmas. While Christmas plans were scrapped because of her health, the whole family rejoiced. On December 26, Mom was finally home!
Then, December 28, my sister texted that our dear mother experienced a stroke. Back in the ER again, the next weeks were touch and go. She lost 40% of her vision. But her attitude was amazing. As people visited her, we heard one common theme: “She doesn’t want to talk about herself. She keeps asking about me, my family, and how I’m doing.” For anyone who knew mom, this rings true. She was always more interested in the person in front of her than her own needs.
On February 28, I took her to lunch. As we walked out of her front door, she wanted to show me how she could walk down the steps. “This is how I do this,” she said as she clung to the railing. In the parking lot, she navigated to a sidewalk and into the restaurant with her walker. Again, with a wry smile, she said, “This is how I do this.” At lunch, she recognized a couple of friends – Charlie Davidson and Bill Shipley. She was learning new ways to adjust to her limitations. She was still able to prepare meals, with some assistance. After lunch, she said to my sister, “For the first time in a while, I don’t feel hopeless.”
Around 8:30 that night, as Caroline and I prepared for bed, Dad called. “Mom’s had another stroke.” She never woke up. The next morning, Caroline and I sat in her room, as Caroline stroked and kissed her head and said, “The best mother-in-law ever.” Mom’s mouth began to move as if she was trying to speak. I wonder if she was saying, “This is how I do this.” Then she was gone. I know that Sandy was waiting for her. Maybe she was talking to him? “Sandy, this is how I do this.” On February 29, leap day, mom leapt into heaven. That’s how she did it.
The next day, I got a call from an old friend. He said, “When I was with your mom, I felt seen.” Not just heard. Not just known. But truly seen. I heard the same thing again and again from other friends of mom. For years, she had a vision problem. Perhaps it was in her own vulnerability that seeing others became even more important.
Seen and Heard
“Randy and I respected, admired, and loved Jean. I was a little afraid of her at first because it felt as if she could see into my soul. She didn’t miss much.” MaryKate Morse teaches at Portland Seminary and serves as a mentor with Leighton Ford Ministries. Through the years, Leighton invested deeply into her life. After a visit in the Fall of 2023, MaryKate shared, “We were sitting on the back porch visiting. Jean turned to Randy and said, ‘Randy, you are a vital part of MaryKate’s ministry. She couldn’t do what she does without your support and care. I see you, many people don’t. I want you to know that I see you. You are special.’ Randy was so moved that Jean would say that to him.”
It is this vital ministry of seeing and listening that defined my parents’ ministries. Countless individuals have told us through the years how they sat on that back porch with one or both of them – and felt really, deeply listened to and seen.
Mentoring Healthy Leaders
Ministry leaders often encounter overwhelming circumstances, stress, and opposition. A rising rate of those dealing with depression, burnout, and a drop-out rate characterize many people in vocational ministry.
That’s why LFM’s mission is to be a catalyst for mentoring a new generation of healthy leaders who sustain thriving ministries for the sake of the Gospel. We come alongside emerging leaders as they journey through life and ministry by creating safe times, safe places, and safe people for their lives. Like Dad and Mom sitting on their back porch, really seeing and listening to individuals, pastors and other leaders need that encouragement, affirmation, and help.
An International Gathering of Evangelists
For 50 years, leaders from every corner of the world have collaborated over pressing missional issues through the Lausanne Movement. Seeking to bridge generations and borders, Lausanne’s passion is that it requires the whole church to take the whole Gospel to the whole world.
In 1974, Billy Graham convened the First Lausanne Congress in Lausanne, Switzerland. Leighton Ford was chosen as the first Chairman. And a movement was born. LFM continues that mission and partnership with several younger leaders’ mentor groups connected with Lausanne.
In September, the Fourth Lausanne Congress took place in Incheon, South Korea. Over 5,000 vocational evangelists gathered from more than 200 countries. Mark Slaughter, our Director of International Mentoring, shared, “It was a sacred experience. Every day I experienced divine appointments God had arranged.”
A key role for Mark, along with board member Anne Grizzle, at Lausanne 2024 was co-hosting a lunch gathering for a group of other long-time Leighton Ford Ministries (LFM) mentors from around the world. Mark shared, “We gave each person resources to share with others about LFM mentoring. From our various conversations, we are also following up about a significant number of people who are very interested in starting mentoring groups in their regions!”
The ministry is exponential. Following Lausanne, we received an invitation to send Mark to Nigeria to speak to 20,000 African pastors who long for the kind of mentoring groups that LFM launches.
As the need for leaders of integrity and conviction continues, “the LFM piece of whole-life mentoring is huge. We bring a key piece to the table in the development of healthy leaders.”
Mentoring Female Evangelists
Elke Werner and Anne Grizzle have envisioned a new mentoring group for 7-9 women evangelists from different regions of the world. Elke, who is part of the World Evangelical Alliance, which encompasses nine regions, will guide these women through a three-year process. Each participant will commit to eventually gathering a group of female evangelists from their region, multiplying mentoring efforts for evangelists worldwide.
We are seeking to raise seed funding of $30,000 to support this initiative. The anticipated impact is mentoring 72 women evangelists from around the globe over six years. The fruit of this effort will extend far into the future, multiplying across generations.
Training Mentors to Impact Others
More than a dozen ministry leaders recently gathered in the Pacific Northwest for a mentoring session. Jim Singleton and MaryKate Morse invested in their lives, modeling LFM’s whole-life mentoring approach.
As you’ll see in the enclosed insert, my mother, Jean Ford, often said, “Don’t forget the evangelists!” Thank you for impacting ministry leaders as they share the Gospel and serve the Kingdom. May the Lord bless you as we celebrate the birth of our Lord Jesus.
“Will you consider helping kingdom leaders have deep relationships?”
• “Sharing” $100/month to help support our ongoing mentoring groups around the world
• “Investing” $2,000 to train and equip a leader for one of these mentoring groups
• “Giving” $5,000 to cover the travel costs for LFM’s Mark Slaughter to speak to 20,000 African pastors in early Jan 2025
• “Providing” $30,000 for the three-year launch of a new mentoring group with Anne Grizzle and Elke Werner
• Making a one time or ongoing gift to Jeanie’s Vision — $1,000, $10,000 or $50,000 to help fund Jeanie’s Vision
